Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on ABC iview<\/a> and ABC Listen<\/a><\/p>\n Her 10-year-old stepdaughter was seeing youth mental health organisation headspace locally, before being categorised as too complex for the service.<\/p>\n Ms Bottrell’s kids have struggled to access mental health services in Coffs Harbour. (ABC Coffs Coast: Claire Simmonds)<\/p>\n “[She] has been through body shaming and suicidal thoughts,” Ms Bottrell said.<\/p>\n “Once you add autism on top of that, there’s really no services available.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Support for young people and families<\/p>\n Meanwhile Ms Bottrell said it took her two years to get her now 11-year-old son into a child psychologist, only to have the specialist relocate to Port Macquarie, more than 150 kilometres away.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her son’s ongoing treatment is now done via telehealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms Bottrell said accessing mental health care had <\/strong>been a drawn-out battle, and was an issue should would like to see addressed by both sides of politics.<\/p>\n “The cost is huge. You can’t access the services through the public system because we just don’t have them,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ms Bottrell said.<\/p>\n In the hotly contested NSW regional electorate of Cowper, access to youth mental healthcare services has become a key topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Access to health care and mental health were two of the top three issues for the electorate of Cowper, along with housing affordability and homelessness, in a pre-election survey conducted by the Salvation Army.<\/p>\n Gaps in care<\/p>\n According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, about one in seven young people experienced a mental health disorder in the past 12 months.\u00a0<\/p>\n The clinical lead at headspace Coffs Harbour, Emily Fraser, said young people in Cowper and regional areas struggled to access affordable care due to a lack of specialists.<\/p>\n Emily Fraser says there are gaps in access to mental health care. (ABC Coffs Coast: Claire Simmonds)<\/p>\n “One of the gaps we’re seeing a lot is for ADHD and autism assessments, which require a specialist report from a psychiatrist or paediatrician,” Ms Fraser said.<\/p>\n “There’s also limited access to GPs that prescribe medication for ADHD. There’s a couple that do, but outside of them, its like [finding] hen’s teeth.”<\/p>\n While headspace helps a large proportion with its free early intervention model of care for 12\u201325 year olds, there are young people who fall outside what they offer.<\/p>\n Coffs Harbour-based clinical psychologist Basia Radlinska says local children under 12 can wait up to two years to get mental health support.\u00a0<\/p>\n “If you want to know what it’s like to wait for mental healthcare, try to get a kid under the age of 10 in for an assessment,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Dr Radlinska said. Basia Radlinska says children under 12 who need a psychiatric assessment can wait for up to two years. (ABC Coffs Coast: Claire Simmonds)<\/p>\n Read more about the federal election:<\/p>\n Want even more? Here’s where you can find all our 2025 federal election<\/a> coverage<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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